The Snowflake and the Bow
by Josmara
Summary: Series of one-shots (not in chronological order) from the day they first met to their last goodbye. Based on the 2014 Jarida Week tumblr prompts. The universe is kinda based on the ROBTG (Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons) concept. Kinda.
1. Dreams

This fic was based out of the Jarida Week 2014 prompts in tumblr. I wrote the first three chapters back then but had to stop afterwards because of my exams. I always wanted to finish it; now, almost three years later (I'm ashamed), it's finally time. So why not go and publish it while we're at it?

All seven chapters form one big story; but not in chronological order. You'll have to follow it as it goes. The first one's the shortest.

Hope you'll enjoy!

 **\- Dreams -**

 _We were both sitting on the shore, close enough so we could watch the sea move along the wind, but at a distance that would allow us to talk without being seen (for me, at least)._

 _It was freezing out there; even more after having been practicing with my bow only minutes ago, and a part of me wished I had stayed at the castle, next to a fire lit up just for me; the other part (the stronger one), however, was just glad I was with him. There was no way we could share a moment together like this inside; I was way too old to be seen talking to myself._

 _He had leaned next to me, and a shiver had run through my body. I had instinctively pressed my coat tighter around me, as he gave me an apologetic smile. He so often forgot my human body was sensitive to cold._

 _I didn't mind being cold. I'd never had. As long as I could see him, talk to him, be with him four months a year, snow and ice and wind meant nothing to me. He knew that._

 _I had smiled, too, patting the spot next to me, inviting him. He didn't doubt. Seconds only later, our bodies were touching through our clothes, and I let myself go against his frozen shoulder, listening to stories of fairies, magic bunnies and sandymen, as a content sigh left my lips._

 _And then, I woke up._

 _It took me a while to realize it was just a dream. For a moment, I had smiled and stretched up in my bed, thinking about all the amazing things we would do together today._ _It was winter, after all._

 _Then, as I slowly emerged from my dreamland, I remembered._ _He wouldn't come this winter, nor would he come next, like he hadn't the past one._

 _A long shiver ran through my body, just like in my dream. Except that this time, it had nothing to do with the cold and the touch of a very special young boy._

 _I gently leaned in my bed until my head touched the pillow, placing my hands underneath it. My eyes stayed open, and I couldn't stop thinking about it._

 _Five years was a very long time._

 _I fear I will never know what happened._ _If he voluntarily left, if something took him away._ _I searched as far away as my ties to the kingdom would let me; I investigated. But looking for someone no one knows ever existed is not easy._

 _Even though I usually try to deny it, a part of me knows. Knows he was probably stupid enough to think that, for some reason, this was the right thing to do. That it was the best for both of us._

 _But five years was a very long time; and no matter what, a part of me never forgot._

 _I never stopped believing, Jack._

 _You're the one who never came back._

* * *

This being the first chapter, I didn't know what I wanted to do in the long run yet and was kinda clumsy in my writing. They get better after this.

Hope you still enjoyed it anyway, don't be shy to like and comment!


	2. Sweet Nothing

_Second part of my Jarida Week story. Title says what you get._

 _Again, all parts form a bigger story, but they are not in chronological order. You'll have to figure it out as it goes!_

* * *

—- **Sweet Nothing** —-

By the time he finally located her, more than half of the castle was shivering and closing all the windows they could see, bothered by the sudden blast of air and cold that had seemed to rush basically everywhere.

It was worth it, in his humble opinion; or at least that's what he assured himself as he silently approached her from behind, a cocky smile on his face.

She didn't seem to have noticed him yet, and he took some time to observe the silhouette of that fifteen year-old girl he knew so well. Her wild hair seemed to be everywhere around her, as if it was trying to protect her like a blanket, while the knife between her hands moved sharply on a piece of wood. Carving usually helped her relax; but for some reason, her body seemed tensed.

" Hi there!" – he sang playfully, suddenly grabbing her shoulders from behind.

He was pretty sure she hadn't noticed his arrival; yet, he couldn't sense any reaction from her. She just ignored him.

"Took me a while to find you, where have you been all day?"

Again, no reaction.

He waited almost patiently for a moment, but the teen looked like she couldn't hear him. He knew that it was ridiculous; she'd always had. Yet, he couldn't help feeling nervous.

"Merida, please. You know I hate it when you ignore me."

 _You're the only one who can talk to me_ , he almost said. But it was no use; she already knew that.

It still took her a few minutes to do him the favor; but she eventually sighed, and slowly turned her gaze to acknowledge him, if only for a second. Jack breathed.

They both stayed silent for a while as he sat next to her from a careful distance, him watching her destroy that poor piece of wood (he tried to call it carving, he really did, but seeing the result made it astonishingly hard).

"So" – he said at last – "you seem upset."

She let a small laugh escape her mouth. He wished he could have heard any sign of joy in it, but it sounded way too sarcastic.

"Oh, yeah. I wonder why that is."

It was Jack's turn to sigh.

"Merida, it will only be a few months…"

"A few months?!"

He had wished, minutes ago, that she would look at him. Now, he would have given anything to see that angry gaze turn everywhere else.

"Almost eight months is just "a few" to you?"

"And what am I supposed to do?" – he asked, defending himself.

"Stay!"

"I can't do that, Merida." –He tried to reason with her. _I would if I could,_ he thought – "I go where winter goes. Always have, always will."

 _It's not like I have the choice_. Hot temperatures made him feel sick, and he was not sure he would be able to survive summer.

" Then make winter stay." – she asked in a sweeter tone, almost begging him.

"I only control snow, frost, and a few things, but I can't make the seasons go my way. I already told you that. I don't even know how that works."

She sighed again, her eyes already locked on her wood sculpture.

This was not going well. Their separation was never happy, but this one was even worse than it usually was.

"I recall you saying you could handle yourself perfectly without me." – he teased.

"Of course I can handle myself perfectly without you!" – her immediate reaction didn't surprise him; that's what he had been hoping for. – "… But it doesn't mean I want to."

The young princess raised her head again, locking eyes with him.

"You're my only real… friend. Besides Angus I mean."

"You're my only real friend too. Besides…"

"…"

"No, you're my only real friend, actually. I must be really desperate…"

She chuckled softly, giving him a hard nudge in the stomach. He tried to repress a moan of pain behind a happy laugh.

"Idiot."

"Look, you still have your family, the people around you… I'll be back before you even notice."

"Easy to say…"

"And this time, I have something to make sure you don't forget me. Coming back to you not even seeing me anymore would be just plain rude, uh?"

She had been prepared to hit him with the back of her knife, daring him to even _insinuate_ she could ever forget him, but the sudden idea of a present hit her first.

"A present?" – she asked, holding back a smile – "what is it?"

Jack smiled. Seeing her in a good mood again made him happy: he would have hated to leave her after a fight, and he only had one or two hours left.

"Yeah; it's something I had been trying to make for two years actually, but now I figured out how! My powers alone weren't powerful enough to make it stay strong for a long time, even more when I'm not here, but all I needed was some of that old man's magic stuff."

He could tell, by the look she was giving him that she had absolutely no idea of what he was talking about, nor in what language; not that he was very surprise.

"I was trying to break-in old North's palace again; I'm still far away from succeeding, but I was able to get that weird jelly thing from one of the elves."

"Who is North?"

It was really hard for Jack not to chortle this time; Merida really was the only person in the world who would put her curiosity about yet another legendary creature before the acknowledgement that her best friend had stolen something from someone important enough to leave in an actual palace.

"A great guy; I'll tell you another day. Well, the thing is, I managed to use it to maintain my creation strong permanently, so…"

"Oh, why don't you just show me already!" – she urged.

"Fine, fine!" – he raised his arms in front of him, as if trying to protect himself from her, a naughty smile still on his lips. – "Fine, there it goes."

Without another word, he introduced his hand in his pocket, to retrieve something small enough for him to keep it in his closed hand.

"As you had the wonderful idea to be born in summer, consider this a very late gift for all the celebrations I've missed through the years."

With that said, he delicately put his present between her open hands, which had abandoned their carving activities a while ago. Merida did shiver this time; but if it was because of his cold touch or expectation he couldn't tell.

What he did know, was that expectation was really killing _him_ as he waited for a reaction, waiting for her to understand what it was.

Against her tender skin laid one single tiny snowflake, made of crystal ice. It wasn't bigger than her iris, and was so thin and looked so fragile she didn't dare to manipulate it at first. She could see particles of ice that reminded her of Jack's eyes circulating through it, as it shined mildly like snow on a sunny day. It was actually very simple and the details were rare.

It wasn't beautiful. It was stunning.

Seeing she hadn't moved or said a word for a while, Jack started to fear this wasn't a good idea; she didn't seem very impressed, and he felt the need to explain himself.

"I wanted to make a tiny me at first, but it was too hard to keep in place, and I didn't want to give you a good reason to call me egocentric again; and a tiny you wasn't easier, your hair was hell. So I thought, hey, she calls me that stupid nickname all the time, and she seems to like winter so much, why not just a "Snowflake"? But if you don't like it, I could still try…"

"No. I do. I like it."

Jack raised his head again. He hadn't even noticed he had lowered it; but apparently, looking to her face was hard from that angle. And he really needed that doubtful glare to go somewhere.

"You do?"

"Yeah. It's perfect."

Her dark blue eyes finally left her present to meet his icy ones.

"Thank you."

When he directed her one of his personal smirks, she had to put her head down again, assuring herself she needed to stare at this object of art some more; if she was to blush, may he not be because of a cocky smile of his.

" You do realize I'm going to break this in no time?" – she asked , almost shy, still weighing the manufacture with her hand. It seemed so tiny and fragile.

"I _dare_ you. I put so much of that jelly stuff on it I'm pretty sure the only thing it will do if you drop it is bounce."

"Sure!"

"And that would also be plain rude."

"Said Mister Rules."

"Said Miss Princess Duties."

They tittered as one this time.

"Seriously Jack, thank you. That was… really nice of you."

"Anytime you want, Princess."

Merida could actually feel her jaw hurt. For how long had she been smiling already?

When, after a while, Jack gently left her side, Merida let him go with a simple smile, still holding the most precious present she had had in her lifetime, along with her bow; also the simplest. And she still couldn't stop smiling.

Maybe waiting for Jack to come back wouldn't be so hard this year.

* * *

 _In which Merida doesn't realize Jack is lonelier than she'll ever be._

 _Hope you liked it, don't be afraid to like and comment!_


	3. Sacrifice

_I didn't intend for this to take so long to be updated. Anyway, here it goes. Still not in chronological order. Enjoy!  
_

* * *

 **Sacrifice**

It was the night before the wedding, and the castle was bustling with activity, despite the cold weather.

Whether she had chosen the celebration to be set in winter on purpose, he would never know. It might only have been because she was aware that the family of the future prince of Dunbroch was used to cold; but the idea that it was for him made him smile; and sorrowful at the same time.

There she was, in the middle of the meadow, surrounded by her family, friends, and future in-laws, who had just arrived, smiling to all, laughing contently all the while.

She was not wearing her wedding dress, of course; but she didn't need that to look gorgeous. The simple green gown made her hair look like it had been set on fire, and her eyes shined. Not that he could see them from where he was; but it wasn't hard to guess. He remembered.

The entire kingdom and the clans surrounding it had been preparing for the event, and guests had been arriving from everywhere to witness the wedding of their future Ruler. Jack couldn't have been prouder.

That was, at least, what he thought, as his eyes settled on one young brown-haired boy, who looked as clumsy as kind. Her fiancé.

He had had the chance to witness it all from a distance. How they had met, on yet another troubled meeting between their fathers; no matter how much they talked, how much they fought, Scots and Vikings would never seem to get along, and their first conversation hadn't been very positive.

Despite that, and to everyone's surprise, they had ended up conversing more and more, laughing together. Her wild attitude made him smile, his awkwardness made her giggle. Her courage was respectful; but his selflessness was admirable. It didn't take much time before they had started feeling… different around each other. And their families never tried to make it easier. But it had finally happened.

Yes, Jack was proud. Together, they hadn't just formed an alliance between their clans: they had also gained the company of loyal dragons and, in his opinion the most difficult part, had made peace with their parents and forced said parents to make peace with each other as well.

And the more he thought about it, the most he thought that yes, the isolation and the tears had been worth it.

It hadn't been easy for Jack to leave her, to sacrifice their friendship; not for a second. Merida and her brothers were the first and only humans to have ever seen him, and being alone again scared him. But it was the best for her.

It had taken him some time to know where this was going; when he had met her, she was just a child, after all. But the more she grew up, the more time they spent together, and the more they liked each other.

It was only when she turned sixteen that he understood the feelings she was developing for him. And a few months more to get that he was feeling the same, too.

The reasons why this was wrong were easy to understand. Merida was growing up; he hadn't aged in all the decades since he had risen from that frozen lake. He had seen thousands of humans die; and all of them disappeared after their death. Not one of them had ever joined his world of magic; he doubted it was even possible. And there was no reason it would be any different for Merida.

He had acted as a real coward; that, he realized. Had left her with the promise to come back in less than a year; to never show up near her castle again. Not that he hadn't observed her. But he had never let her see him.

She had cried. Begged. Doubted. Interrogated her brothers for days, asking if they had seen something, _anything_ , that proved he was still there; that he still _existed_. Nothing.

Two years after his abandonment, she had appeared on their favourite place next to the sea, had sat down in the cold snow, and had said out loud that she wouldn't leave until he showed up. She had repeated said action for two weeks; the time it took her to get sick.

That didn't stop her to repeat the same action the next year. And the next. And the next.

Until one year, when Jack had arrived to watch, to make sure it wouldn't snow on her, that she wouldn't get too cold, all he had seen was a note on the floor. Careful to make sure no one was around, he had left his hiding place to take a look at the piece of paper, where were written five very simple words.

 _I still believe in you._

It was the last time she had ever said anything about him.

And after six years, she had finally found someone else. Jack hadn't, of course; no one else had ever seen him ( _believed_ in him) since. But he was still glad. And happy, that her new lover was someone so kind and worthy of respect as the young one-legged Viking. Yes, he deserved her, he decided. And they would be happy.

"Jack?"

The sudden call made him froze more than he already was, to the point he was unable to turn around for a while. When he finally did, it was with a mix of flutter (no one had said his name for years) and pure fear. Fear that she had seen him. Fear that he had ruined it.

Before him stood a young man. It took Jack a while to recognize him as one of the triplets, even though he had no idea which one (he had never been able to tell). His expression was one of confusion and shock. Still troubled himself, Jack wondered for a second what was the most surprising: that none of his brothers was with him or that he was still able to see him.

"Is that you?"– the young man asked.

"You still believe in me?"

Despite the fact that he hadn't answered, the red-haired took it as a "yes", and he stayed there for a while, contemplating him. The wonder in his gaze was quickly replaced by anger, so strong that Jack couldn't repress a shiver.

"We all still believe in you, Jack. All of us." – he raised his head to make sure the young winter spirit wouldn't miss his dark look, nor his harsh words – "Especially _her."_

Jack swallowed with difficulty. He couldn't remember any of the triplets ever talking to him (while they did believe in him and played with him, before he had left they only talked between themselves, and exceptionally with their sister). Now, he wished it had stayed that way.

"I'm sorry…"

"Harris."

"I'm sorry, Harris… I had to. You don't understand. I had to."

"Yes." – he answered, in a lower tone– "Yes, I do understand."

And with that said, Harris directed his eyes under the castle's roof they were staying on. When Jack followed his gaze, all he found was Merida, one of her hands placed in her fiancé's one.

For the second time this night, he found it hard to swallow.

"She is happy." – he stated.

"I guess she is."

"Please, Harris." – Jack quickly begged, turning to face his old friend again – "Don't tell her I was here. Don't tell her you _saw_ me."

This time, the look and the smile the second in line for the throne of Dunbroch gave him were ones of pure, simple sadness.

"On the eve of her wedding?" – he asked softly – "What good would that do?"

Yes. What good would it do?

"Goodbye, Jack."

It took him some time to understand what Harris was implying. And with one last smile, that perfectly matched his sorrowful one, he answered.

"Goodbye, wee devil."

* * *

 _Okay, back when I started this, here is when I really started to see where this story was going. So far I was just making up one-shots as I went._

 _Again, like and comment, and hope you liked it!_


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